Chennai: A quack, who has been practicing as a medical doctor at the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Meenambakkam, absconded on Monday after a doctor confronted him on office premises.
The fake doctor continued as a medical practitioner, despite having been arrested for being a fraud, last year, said sources from the transport office.
Seventy-year-old Dr Satchidhanandam, who went to the regional transport office to renew his driving license, grew suspicious after he saw the three-digit medical council registration number on the quack’s seal.
“His registry number is 470 and he looks like a man in his forties. This is highly impossible as I, being a 70-year-old, possess the registry number ‘29,253’,” Dr Satchidhanandam told Deccan Chronicle.
As per the seal, Dr B. Gopi, a resident of Madipakkam, has four degrees (MD, AC, MBS, FIIAA) attached to his name.
Sources from the office told DC that the quack, who has been practicing for not less than six years, was arrested last year for the swindle. “He took a break and continued as a practitioner. His bribes to issue a certificate ranging from Rs 150 to Rs 500, depending on the status of the individual.
Over 200 people approach the RTO, Alandur, each day either for a new license or for renewals. Dr Satchidhanandam has taken up the matter with Regional Transport Authority Dinakaran, who has promised to take necessary action.
Dr J.A. Jayalal of Tamil Nadu Medical Council (TNMC) confirmed Gopi’s quackery, stating, “The records in TNMC are maintained since 1919 and it is impossible for a doctor possessing a registration number 470 to be still alive. As he does not have an MBBS degree, he is not qualified to be a practitioner. From the registry records, it is confirmed that his medical registry number is fake.”
Dr K.K. Agarwal, president elect, Indian Medical Association (IMA), said, “It is a non-bailable offense. He is entitled to punishment for more than three years under the Indian Penal Code for producing fake documents. A complaint can be lodged with the State Medical Council too.”
